Chamal Jayantha Rajapaksa ( Sinhala: චමල් රාජපක්ෂ;

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

: சமல் ராஜபக்ஷ; born 30 October 1942) is a Sri Lankan politician who was

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

from 2010 to 2015. Previously he served as Minister of Ports and Aviation and the Minister for Irrigation and Water Management. He hails from a well known political family in Sri Lanka. His father, D. A. Rajapaksa, was a prominent politician, independence agitator,

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

and Minister of Agriculture and Land in

Wijeyananda Dahanayake Wijeyananda Dahanayake ( si, විජයානන්ද දහනායක ta, விஜயானந்த தகநாயக்கா; 22 October 1902 – 4 May 1997) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the Prime Minister of Ceylon from Septe ...

's government. He is the elder brother of

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

, who was

President of Sri Lanka The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...

from 2005 to 2015 and

Gotabaya Rajapaksa Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan militar ...

who was President from 2019 to 2022. Nine members of the Rajapaksa family have been members of parliament in Sri Lanka.Speaker of the Seventh Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Parliament website, Retrieved on 25 November 2013.

Shashindra Rajapaksa Shasheendra Kumara Rajapaksa (known as ''Shasheendra Rajapaksa'') is a Sri Lankan politician. He is a Member of Sri Lankan Parliament for Monaragala District and former State Minister of Paddy and Cereals, Organic Food, Vegetables, Fruits, Chil ...

(eldest son of Rajapaksa) is the former chief Minister of

Uva UVA most often refers to: * Ultraviolet A, a type of ultraviolet radiation * University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States Uva or UVA may also refer to: Places * Uva, Missouri, an unincorpora ...

Provincial Council and former Basnayaka Nilame (Lay Custodian) of the Ruhunu Maha Kataragama devalaya.

Early life and education

Rajapaksa was born on 30 October 1942 in Palatuwa in the Southern District of Matara and raised in Medamulana in the District of

Hambantota Hambantota ( si, හම්බන්තොට, ta, அம்பாந்தோட்டை) is the main town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri LankaThe prominent Malays (මැලේ) most part of the population is to be partly des ...

.''President's Fund of Sri Lanka''
President's Profile
He was the eldest son, of nine siblings which included, an older sister, three younger brothers:

and

Basil Rajapaksa Basil Rajapaksa (born 27 April 1951) is a Sri Lankan-American politician. He is a former Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for the national list. He was also a member of the Sri Lankan Parliament from 2007 to 2015. During the period ...

and two younger sisters, to D. A. Rajapaksa and Dona Dandina Samarasinghe Dissanayake. He received his primary and secondary education at Richmond College,

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

. As a student, he was an athlete and played soccer for the school, in addition to being an academical high achiever.

Early career

Following his schooling, he joined the

Ceylon Police Force (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = ...

as a

Sub-inspector Sub-inspector (SI), or sub-inspector of police, is a rank used extensively in South Asia: in the police forces of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which is primarily based on the British model. It was formerly used in most British col ...

and served for eight years. He thereafter served the State Trading General Corporation as the Assistant General Manager before getting into active politics in 1985.

Political career

Contested the by-election held in 1985 for Mulkirigala Electorate. Entered Parliament in 1989 as a member of parliament of the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka� ...

representing Hambantota District. Has been a member of parliament continuously since 1989, retaining his seat in all elections held to date. Prior to the present appointment as Speaker of the Parliament he has held the following portfolios. *Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Lands *Deputy Minister of Ports and Southern Development *Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries *Minister of Agricultural Development *Minister of Irrigation and Water Management *Minister of Ports and Aviation

Honorary titles

*"Sri Lanka Janaseva Vibhushana"

Other positions held

*President, Sri Lanka – Russia Parliamentary Friendship Association *President, Sri Lanka – Hungary Parliamentary Friendship Association *Chairman, District Development Committee, Hambantota (District Secretariat) *Chairman, Hambantota Development Foundation

References

External links